


Good Luck Charm

by its_like_looking_in_3d



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Diego Hargreeves is Bad at Feelings, Gen, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kid Fic, Not Incest, References to Emotional Abuse, i wrote this between 1am and 3am basically, never thought id have to tag smth as that but here we are nshf, now with added goblin at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 05:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18025565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_like_looking_in_3d/pseuds/its_like_looking_in_3d
Summary: On a rare less supervised day, Diego sneaks out to explore the city.





	Good Luck Charm

It was Saturday.  
Most of the worthwhile and, well, less traumatic stories the children of Reginald Hargreeves had revolved around it being Saturday.  
Either that or Mom convincing the bastard to let them do something fun while phrasing it like it would be an educational activity.  
  
This time however, it had been decided that at 10, the children were allowed to fully take this particular leisure day for themselves, as their father had first of all locked himself in his study again and told Mom to direct them, and secondly, Mom had taken that as an opportunity to decide that they were old enough to be responsible for themselves for a bit, so she'd only be checking in on them now and again.  
  
Which meant Diego was currently climbing down the fire escape beside his bedroom window.  
  
When he'd looked over at the windows of his siblings rooms when he'd first decided this was what he was going to do with himself today, they had all been firmly shut and he had figured this was probably the only chance he would get to do this without an audience so he might as well go for it.  
Knowing his luck of course that meant Ben and Klaus were currently sitting on Klaus' windowsill, feet dangling below them as if they either feared nothing or only had one braincell between the pair of them. Seeing as this was his brothers and he knew them - well, he knew where he'd put his money anyway.  
  
Klaus of course was swinging his legs, seeing as the gangly mess of limbs couldn't keep them all still at once, leaving him constantly in motion. Ben as always, was far less animated than their brother in comparison, although his head bopped in time to the music spilling out from behind them - more than likely Luther had been convinced to put a record on rather than sit by himself or whatever other probably boring thing he was likely to do if left by himself.  
  
" 'llo Dee, whatcha up to?"  
  
Oh well, he'd known it was a matter of time after he had seen them that the two would notice him once they were comfortable enough sitting out the window to people watch.  
  
"N-nothing Klaus I'm going for a walk, I'll be back b-before Mom comes to check on me."  
  
If he was being entirely honest, considering he hadn't a watch to his name he had no idea how he would manage that, but he was small and determined, and anyway, it wasnt like he was planning on going very far in the first place.  
  
Klaus looked like he was going to say something else, more than likely some way of shoehorning himself into joining Diego on his walk, but he didn't get much of a chance. Ben always did have rather pointy elbows, and when it came to getting Klaus to choose an option less likely to end up with - say knives - anywhere near his face, he wasn't very likely to pull his punches.  
  
Either way, it wasn't going to stop him for long though if Diego waited long enough for Klaus to make up his mind about following his brother, so Diego sped up his climb down.  
  
"W-whatever, have fun hanging out a window I-I-I guess."  
  
Out of the corner of his eye as he left the little side street, he could see Klaus puffing up with annoyance at losing his chance, and Ben waving, cheeky smirk in place.  
  
He wandered for a while, not wanting to get lost and end up in trouble if he took too long getting back then, but also finding the idea of getting as far away from the mansion very tempting.  
  
Both of these made what he was doing seem frightening and thrilling all at once.  
  
Unfortunately, currently frightening seemed to be winning over the thrill; the crowds he was begining to near seeming wild and too loud. He ducked into an alley as quickly and as discreetly as he could, and stopped, bracing himself against the old uneven brick wall behind him, hands on knees, struggling to get his breath under control as his head hung and his eyes stung.  
  
He'd decided weeks ago as soon as he got the chance this was something he didn't just want to do - it was something Diego had to do. How could he become a superhero and protect his city if he didn't know it?  
  
So here he was, hunched over in a dingy alleyway at 3 in the afternoon, trying to get his breathing back under control before he did something awful like cry.  
  
His eyes darted around the ground in front of him, trying to find something that would probably distract him from the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, when he noticed something dirty that would probably be closer to bright red than it was currently, sitting rather innocently under a crisp wrapper and an empty and squashed McDonald's cup.  
  
Not noticing that his breathing was slightly steadier already, distraction working, he bent to pick it up.  
It looked like a toy mushroom, but he couldn't figure out what it was made from. It wasn't hard enough to be plastic, but it wasn't squishy enough to be foam.  
  
What it was however, was not broken. Unlike everything else lying around the alleyway, it didnt look like it had been on the wrong end of a hurricane. Most things Diego could see were so battered and broken you could barely tell what they had started their life as before ending up there.  
  
With a start, he realised how late it probably was suddenly, and took off the way he'd come again, stange mushroom thing shoved in his pocket to be forgotten.  
  
It was only later, sitting in his room with Mom not long gone (Klaus and Ben, knowing he wasn't in his room, had stalled her next door for as long as possible) that he shoved his hand back into his pocket and found the muck covered thing.  
  
Maybe, he found himself wondering, its lucky. Maybe, if I clean it I'll get good luck, or wishes!  
  
Much to his annoyance, what the dirt circling down the bathroom sink left was the ugliest thing he'd ever seen.  
It did, true enough, vaguely resemble a mushroom, but it also had an awful goblin face stretched across the trunk. If this thing was a good luck charm he didn't want it anymore.  
  
His siblings on the other hand...  
  
Their father had been saying more often recently about them going on missions, so maybe one of them would need it.  
  
Vanya wouldn't be going on any missions anyway, so he could scratch her off the list straight away - you needed powers to go on missions, she'd more likely get herself or one of the others hurt if she tried.  
  
He'd die of embarressment before trying to give Luther something like this - besides, being the wonder boy he was he'd be unlikely to keep something this ugly.  
  
Similar things could be said of trying to give to Allison, who would probably scoff and ask why he was trying to give it to her. So no, not Allison then.  
  
Five wouldn't touch it more than likely just because of how ugly it was, nevermind where he had found it so Five was out too.  
  
Which left Ben and Klaus.  
  
With how much the two were around each other, giving it to one might as well be giving it to the other too, but while Ben might have seemed more obvious as a choice between the two as the more responsible one, he would likely ask questions.  
  
Klaus on the other hand, if it was lucky, would probably benefit from it more - if it wasn't as dramatic as falling down the stairs in Mom's shoes and breaking his jaw, he was tripping, or something else equally mundane, ending up with more than a few bruises and scrapes.  
  
So yes, Klaus seemed the best one to give it to. Not only that he was a bit of a hoarder, so it was, while likely to be forgotten, more than likely still going to be something Klaus would have 20 years later, knowing his brother's dislike of throwing things out - as evidenced by his room.  
  
Decided, he snuck down the corridor towards Klaus' room. He'd made a game out of moving through the house as quietly as possible, and it had proved itself useful multiple times now for scaring his siblings and for avoiding their father when he was worse than usual.  
  
Knocking lightly as Mom had taught them, he barged into the room anyway without waiting. Klaus was stretched out on his bed now, Ben somewhere else with the two of them probably bored of looking out the window at the end of the side street onto the main road visible from their bedrooms.  
  
"And to what do I owe this - "  
  
Cutting the most dramatic of his brothers off, Diego tosses the ugly mushroom thing at him, hitting him rather squarely on the forehead, before leaning agaianst the door frame.  
  
"F-found this while I was out. Thought y-you might like it seeing as i-it's hideous."  
  
Klaus flails for a moment before he finds the goblin mushroom, and holds it up to inspect. It obviously passes whatever test it's being put under however as Diego watches his brother slowly start to grin at the truely ugly thing in his hand.  
  
"Oh my god it's hideous! I love it!"  
  
He'd never admit it, but Diego breathes a sigh of relief. He really hopes this thing is lucky, because with the talent Klaus has for getting himself into trouble he has a feeling his brother is going to need all the luck he can get.

 

**Author's Note:**

> my friend chloe, not only is basically klaus, she also drew the awful mushroom thing that gave me the idea for this at quarter to 1 in the morning. its currently after 3 because the hideous little thing wouldnt let me sleep until i wrote something about diego finding it and giving it to klaus. this was written in my memos app on my phone so if you find any mistakes please let me know - i tried to fix any but i might have missed some.
> 
> her tumblr is if-the-moon-told-you-so
> 
> the drawing that inspired this is here: http://if-the-moon-told-you-so.tumblr.com/post/183278650204/ben-finally-gets-klaus-to-clean-out-his-coat
> 
> edit: the image with the drawing of the horrid little thing should be at the end of this now bc i think ive figured out how to do it from my phone but if it hasnt worked please tell me


End file.
